Variable-speed gearing.



Patented May 29,- 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

P. A'. WEIGEL.

VARIABLE SPEED GEARING. APPLICATION FILED-JUNE a, 1914. RENEWED JAN. 18,1911.

P. A. WEIGEL.

4 VARIABLE SPEED GEARQNG. APPLICATION Hugo JUNE 8, I914- RENEWED JAN. 18. 19 17.

1,227,985. Patented May 29, 191-7.

a SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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gear with 'a helical tooth, or worm thereon;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

A; WEIGEL, OF RIVERTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTQ,

1'0 AUTO TRANSMISSION COMPANY, A. CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.-

V ABIAIBLE-SPEED GEARING.

Application med June 8, 1814, Serial No. 848,597.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PHILIP A. WEIGEL, a

citizen of the United States of America, re-

siding at Riverton, in the county of-Burlington and State of New Jersey, have inrotate at variable speeds, relative to the driving shaft;

To provide a, novel form of cone driving To provide novel means for adjusting the driving and driven gears, with respect to each other.

With these and such other objects" in view, as may hereinafter more fully appear, my invention consists in the novel arrangement and construction of parts set forth in the following specification, more particularly' pointed out in the claims, and which are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device,

partly in section.

Fi 2 is-a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig.1. 1

Fig. 3 is an 'end elevation of the shifting mechanism, the casing being shown in section. 1

While the construction described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings is one at present preferred by me and typifying my invention, it will'be understod that various changes in the form, proportions, size and minor details of the invention as an entirety, may be made without departing from its spirlt or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Referring to said drawings by numera1s:- w

A suitable support, or base 1, has j'our-- naled therein a driving shaft 2, which may be 'connected'in any well known mannerto a suitable source of power, or energy.

Mounted on said shaft 2, within the sup- Specificatlon of Letters Patent.

Patented May 29, 1917.

Renewed January 18, 1817. Serial No. 148,198.'

port l,is a bell-shaped member 3 provided, around its mouth, withan annular gear 4.

Gear 4 meshes with a pinion 5 carried on the outer end 01" a stub-shaft 6 journaled in frame 7.

Frame 7 is positioned within the support 1 and has one end located within the afore said bell-shaped member 3. A hub' 8 is formed on the interior of the topv of the bell-shaped member 3, and is adapted to enter a suitable opening formed in one end of frame 7 for the purpose of forming a journal; the other end of said frame be1ng ournaled in the support-1.

On the inner end of stub-shaft 6, is mounted a pinion 9, meshing with pinions 10 and 10,, which said pinions are carried by shafts 11 and 11, respectively, extending transversely of the frame 7, in which they are journaled'."

Mounted on the shafts 11 and "11 are similar cones 12 provided with a spiral flange, or gear tooth 13. The cones 12 are slidable upon theirrespective" shafts but are constrained to rotate therewith by the keys 14 located in slots, or keyways 15, formed in said shafts.

Extending longitudinally of said frame 7, andhaving one end journaled ina suitable bore formed in the said hub 8 and its other end journaled in the support 1, is the driven shaft 16.

V Mounted on the shaft 16, and slidably keyed thereto in the usual and well known manner, are the similar cone gears 17 and 17 provided with the longitudinally positioned, curved teeth 18 adapted to mesh with the saidspiralteeth 13 of cones 12.

Cones 17 and 17 are joined at their smaller;

ends by the hub, or sleeve-17".

Loosely mounted on the shaft 16, and cmbracing the gears'17 and17',is a yoke. 19, one end of which has secured thereto, by the collar head 20, a sleeve 21 which isslidable upon theshaft 16. Within a suitable boxing,.or casing 22, formed on the support 1, are journaled in supports 23 a segment gear 24: adapted to mesh with bevel gear 25, which is'inte'gral with the frame 7 eing connected thereto by the hollowcylindrical member 26, and asegment gear 27 mounted on shaft 35 and meshing with pinion 29 being formed with a, laterally extending, peripheral flange 28 the inner face of which carries gear teeth 110 adaptedto mesh with-a pinion 29, on a shaft journaled m a support- 131 the other end of which shaft 15 of these parts is accomplished through the lever 33, terminating 1n the yoke 34, *the ends of which yoke are rigidly connected to the shafts 35 which carry the said segment gears 24 and 27. Y

Pivotally secured to suitable supports 36, formed in the aforesaid frame 7, are bellcrank levers 37 one arm of which ends in the pronged, or divided portion 38, the ends of which said portion are slidabl connected to the collars 39 which are loose y mounted on the ends of the cone gears 12.

J ournaled in suitable supports 40, mounted in frame 7, is a shaft 41. Mounted on either end of said shaft .41 is a cam 42, surrounded by a cam strap 43 provided with a projecting arm the end of which is pivotally connected to the bell-crank lever '37, as shown most clearly at 44.

Also mounted on the shaft 41, and con- I strained to revolve therewith, are the pinions 45 adapted tomesh with racks formed in said yoke 19, said racks being preferably shrouded'as shown most clearly at 46.

The operation of the device is as follows volve, and with them the cones 12.

From cones 12 motion is imparted to shaft 16 through cone 17 or 17 with which cones 12 alternately mesh. a

The direction of revolution of shaft 16,

and also the speed of such revolution, is controlled by means of the lever 33 which, when thrown in the direction of the arrow, causes the cones 12 to mesh with cone 17' and,

when thrown in the opposite direction, causes them to mesh with cone 17.

When the lever 33' is thrown several operations takeplace, as follows :-+The'se ent gear 24, being revolved, causes a rave ution of the bevel gear 25 and with it the frame 7 It will be noted that' 'th'e revolution thus imparted to frame 7 is always in the direction of motion of shaft 16, thereby lessening the strain,vor shock of throwing the gearsout of mesh. Segment 27 is also revolved, which causes a revolution of pinion 29, withwhich it meshes, thereby revolving pinion' 32 which, through its engagement with rack 33,

slides sleeve 21 along shaft 16 and, with said sleeve, the yoke 19.and gears 17 and 17 The movement of yoke 19 causes a revolution of the pinions 45 and, through them, of

to mesh with the cams, 42, causing a throw of their .stra s and arms-which actuates the bell-crank e- I .averb; 3? to change the position of the cones inion 32 adapted to mesh with a rank 33- ormed in the said sleeve 21. The act!ijation beslid into and out of engagement with the cones'12, to chan e the dlrection ofmotion, while their positions and that of cones 12 may be varied with respect to each other, to secure a' wide range of changes of speed.

Although I have referred to a spiral flange 13 on each of thedriving'cones 12, in the sense of a single flange on each cone, it will be observed that'in both Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings I have illustrated a pair of counterpart spiral flanges the pitch of which gradually decreases from the small to the arge end of the cone, and I therefore desire that it be understood that I do not confine myself to one or even to two spiral flanges on the driving cones but contem late the use of a plurality of two or more anges, always, however, confining myself to a construction in which said flanges are ofprecisely counterpart form, and each of continuously 'spirality extending from one end of the cone tothe other end.

We thus'seethat thecones 17 and 17' may It will be further observed that in the spiral reach, or trend of a given spiral flan e 13, the convergence of its course, so to spea I, is such that according to the osition of its driving cone 12 relatively, to t e position of a driven cone 17,-the' curved teeth18 of which extend only from one end of the cone to the other,and not spirally,-a sufficiently greater or ess numberfof curved teeth may be included between the walls of a given spiral flange, or flanges, to increase or di= claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a variable speed gearing, a'cone driving gear, a helical flange thereon, a cone driven gear anism for shifting said gears to secure a variation of spec curved teeth thereon adapted said helical flange, and mech- 2 In a variable speed gearing, a supm,

a driving shaft journaled .therem,

able speed driving gears actuated b said bell-shaped member, driven gears a pted to mesh with said driving gea and mechgears.

8. In a variable speed gearing, a support,

shaped member on said driving shaft, vari- I anism for simultaneously-shifting n aframe rotatably mounted -in said support, a cone driven gear, curved teeth thereon 40 a driving shaft journaled in said szfiepiort, variable speed driving gears ourn 1n saidframe, driven gears adapted to mesh with said driving gears, earing between said driving shaft and sai driving gears, and mechanism for simultaneously shifting said driving and driven gears and rotating said frame,

4. In a variable speed gearing, a suitable support, a frame rotatably mounted in said support, driving gears journaled in said frame driven gears adapted to mesh with ivmg gears, means for. shifting said are, and mechanism operated by said driven saidshi ing means'for changing the pos1-' tion of said driving gears.

5. Ida variable speed gearing, a sup-v port, a bell-shaped driving gear ournaled in said support, a frame journaled in said support an said bell-sha member varia speed gearing ourna ed in said frame,

- gearingbetween said bell-shaped gear and said variable speed aring, and mechanism for shifting said va iable speed gearing.

- l 6. In a variable speed caring, a drlv' shaft, agear\- mounted t ereon, a driven shaft, gears on said shaft adapted to niesh with said drivin gear, a yoke loosely mounted on said 'ven shaft and emirate ingsaid gears, a sleeve secured to said yoke and slidable, on said driven shaft, a

formed on said sleeve, a pinion m with said rack, and means for actuatin said p nion to reciprocate said sleeve an a yoke.

..7. In a variable speed gearing, a cone driving gear, a helical flange thereon extending from one end to the other thereof,

thereon extending from one-end to the other thereof, and adapted to mesh with said helical flanges, and mechanism for shifting said gears to securea variation of speed.

9. In a variable speed gearing, a lurality of conedriving gears, a helical ange on each of said gears extending from'one end tovv the other thereof, a plurality of cone driven gears, counterpart curved teeth thereon extending thereof, and adapted to mesh respectively with said respective helical flanges, and mechanism for shifting said gears to secure a variation in speed.

10. In a variable speed gearing, a plurality of cone driving gears, a plurality of counterpart helical flanges respectively thereon and each extending from one end to the other of said gears, a plurality of cone driven gears, curved counterpart teeth thereon adapted to mesh respectively with said helical flanges, and mechanism for shifting said gears to secure a variation in. speed.

he a. each, by addressing the Oommissioner of rams, Washington, D. 0.

from one end to the other 

